Meet the Commission Members

The Commission consists of five appointed members. Three of the Commissioners are appointed by the Governor (not more than two can be from the same political party), two for terms of three years and one for a term of two years; one member is appointed by the Senate Committee on Assignments for a term of four years; and one member is appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives for a term of four years. The Act provides that members of the Commission can not serve for more than one term. The Act further provides that any person who has qualified to run for office, or has held any federal, state, or local public office within a period of five years prior to appointment is not eligible to serve as a member of the Commission.

Hillary S. Stringfellow practices law with the Brunswick firm of Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford & Martin, P.C. where she specializes in trust and estates planning and administration, as well as working with tax-exempt organizations.

Currently she serves on the Judicial Nominating Commission, is a member of the Southeast Georgia Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors, and sits on the Georgia FFA Foundation Sponsors Board. She is a past chair of the American Cancer Society Victory Gala and is active with the Hospice of the Golden Isles as well as the Fiduciary Section of the State Bar of Georgia. Mrs. Stringfellow served as a law clerk under Judge Duross Fitzpatrick, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Mrs. Stringfellow received both her Bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia.

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Lawton Jordan III is an attorney at Williams Teusink, LLC in Decatur, where he has a general business practice focusing on business and real estate transactions.

Mr. Jordan is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the Atlanta Bar Association, and formerly served as a member of the executive committee of the Real Property Section of the State Bar of Georgia. He is admitted to practice before the Georgia Supreme Court, and is a member of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

From 1994 to 1996 Mr. Jordan worked at the White House in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and served as Chief Legal Counsel to the Minority Caucus in the Georgia State Senate in 2002 and 2003. In 2003 he was selected as a “40 under 40 Rising Star” by Georgia Trend Magazine. In 2007 and 2009, Mr. Jordan was selected by other lawyers for inclusion as a “Rising Star” in the list of Georgia Super Lawyers.

Mr. Jordan was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, cum laude, with a B.A. in 1993. He received his J.D. in 2000 from the University of Georgia.

Mr. Jordan and his wife Jennifer live in Atlanta with their two young children. They are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church.

Heath Garrett is a founding member of the law firm Turner, Bachman & Garrett LLC. He also leads the southeast office of the Stevens and Schreifer Group, a national media advertising firm. Mr. Garrett currently serves on the boards of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Council for Quality Growth and the Georgia chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

He previously served as U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s chief of staff, where he worked as the chief political strategist for Isakson’s successful U.S. Senate campaigns in 2004 and 2010. Mr. Garrett’s other political clients have included: Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Secretary of State Brian Kemp and the Georgia Republican Party. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a legal and policy adviser to Chairman Johnny Isakson and the Georgia State Board of Education. Garrett is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia.

Mr. Garrett graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1995. While attending university he served as an editor for the Georgia Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Mr. Garrett and his wife, Lee, have three children. The family resides in Marietta.

Dennis T. Cathey is a founding member of the law firm Cathey & Strain in Cornelia, Georgia. A member of the State Bar of Georgia and the American Bar Association, Mr. Cathey served the State Bar as a member of the Board of Governors. He has also served on the Investigative Panel of the State Bar Disciplinary Committee. Mr. Cathey is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, having served as its president during 2004-2005. He has been selected as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Trial Advocates. A recipient of the State Bar Traditions of Excellence Award, Mr. Cathey currently serves on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the State of Georgia and the State Bar Committee on Legislation. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia.

Mr. Cathey received his Bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia and was an officer in the United States Army Medical Service Corps. He and his wife, Vicki, reside in Demorest, Georgia.

Mary Paige Adams is a Director at FTI Consulting and based in Atlanta. Mrs. Adams leads the Georgia Trial Services practice in the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment of FTI Consulting. Prior to joining FTI, Mrs. Adams was a senior partner at a litigation boutique. During her career she guided multiple matters to successful resolution including numerous cases decided by either a judge or jury. Mrs. Adams has appeared as a litigator in all levels of the state trial and appellate courts in Georgia. During her trial career she has been listed and cited as trial counsel in numerous reported judicial decisions. In addition, Mrs. Adams had an extensive motions practice prior to becoming a consultant and has appeared in hundreds of motion proceedings in courtrooms throughout Georgia and the southeast.

Mrs. Adams was a member of the Leadership Georgia class of 2010. Mrs. Adams was also selected as a member of the University of Georgia’s 2011 class of “40 Under 40” and sits on the Grady College of Journalism Alumni Board.

Mrs. Adams was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve on Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission and was a finalist candidate for the Georgia Court of Appeals. In July 2014, Lt. Governor Casey Cagel appointed Mrs. Adams to the Georgia Government and Transparency Campaign Finance Commission.

Mrs. Adams is also very involved in the Atlanta community, serving on the board of directors of Peachtree Childtown and having served on the board of directors of the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. She is a member of numerous other community organizations including, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Friends, Junior League of Atlanta, and The Center for Puppetry Arts String Fling Committee.

Mrs. Adams received both her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a concentration in broadcast news and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia. She and her husband live in Atlanta with their three children. They are Deacons at Peachtree Christian Church where Mrs. Adams also serves on the Executive Committee.